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UC Merced students return to campus for move-in day

Move-in day had UC Merced humming with activity Tuesday, as students lugged their belongings into dorm rooms and parents hugged their children goodbye.

About 500 returning students were expected to take their place in the dorm rooms Tuesday. About 1,600 students new to the campus moved in on Sunday.

Gustavo Cruz, 19, pushed his roughly 100-pound military-style duffle bag of belongings on a dolly into UC Merced’s newest dorm, Half Dome. The bag held basically everything he brought, other than a guitar, bike and printer.

“I had a lot more stuff at home I could have brought, but you really just need to know when to say no,” said Cruz, who is from Los Angeles. “It’s just a part of growing up.”

The environmental engineering major said he made the mistake of bringing more stuff as a freshman, but realized it’s better to have fewer things to carry back home.

Now a sophomore, Cruz said he’s getting used to the change of pace the Central Valley offers compared to Southern California, but he still misses surfing.

Dorm-life also took some getting used to.

“It’s very social at times,” Cruz said. “Conversely, it’s very anti-social — people just hole themselves up in their rooms.”

About 2,100 of UC Merced’s anticipated 6,200 students live in dorm rooms, said Brenda Ortiz, a senior public information officer. The exact numbers aren’t available until a campus census is completed about three weeks into the semester.

Ortiz said students will continue to move in through Thursday, when classes start, but most take their spots on move-in day.

The dorms are split almost evenly, Ortiz said, among students from Southern California, the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

A number of events are planned this week, she said, to welcome students.

Another returning student, Rebecca Massil, carried her pet betta fish up the elevator, while father David pulled the mini-refrigerator on a dolly.

She was also moving into the Half Dome complex, which took about two years to build and cost $42 million.

Massil said sharing a room as a freshman last year, which she will do again with two other students, was a new experience.

“I actually enjoyed it,” the 18-year-old sophomore said. “Although, I am not used to having to share my space.”

Massil, who is from Roseville, said she is still working out ways to stay entertained in Merced.

“There is less to do in town, but the college is great,” she said.

David Massil, 50, said his daughter will be following in his footsteps — he’s a doctor and she’s a biological sciences major.

He was on campus this time last year to move his daughter in, and any nerves have mostly subsided.

“We’re nervous that our daughter is going away, but it is very temporary,” he said. “We’re fine.”

The sight of parents pushing dollies and students gripping boxes will likely become a more common site, as administrators plan to have 10,000 students by the year 2020.

The university also plans to add 1,500 more beds and another dining facility in the next few years to try to meet the demand for housing.

Though it was her second visit, Sharie Jackson, 37, of Los Angeles had not totally shaken off the emotions of seeing her daughter, 19-year-old Carli Bardier, step out on her own.

She cried when she moved her daughter in last year as a freshman. She said she nearly cried when Bardier used her own money to by a laptop to bring to school this year.

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